Burger bliss

A great burger should be a sloppy, messy, overflowing ordeal that leaves your mouth ringed with condiments. It should demand a fork and extra bread to mop up the drippings. It should be intensely flavorful and juicy.

But it should not take much time to build. After all, the hamburger is the icon of fast food.

Transforming a generic burger into a gourmet — but still speedy — experience is just a matter of lining up the right auxiliary ingredients.

For example, ditch the white bun for thick slabs of challah, replace American cheese with manchego, forgo ketchup for chutney and pile on caramelized onions and peppers, and you’ve got an intense burger for about the same effort as your typical cheeseburger.